With French opposition remaining to the EU-Mercosur deal struck last week by the EU, the real work on the deal starts now, French liberal MEP Marie-Pierre Vedrenne tells the Radio Schuman podcast today.

Last week, the EU finalised the contentious Mercosur agreement with some South Amercan countries, a deal that follows on-and-off negotiations that began in 1999.

However, France—one of the largest EU member states—along with several other countries with sizeable dairy and beef industries, opposes the agreement. They argue it could expose local farmers to unfair competition and heighten environmental risks.

To block the deal, France is attempting to form a coalition of like-minded member states. Under EU rules, it would need the support of at least three other countries representing 35% of the bloc’s population. Additionally, the agreement must gain approval from the European Parliament.

In the second segment of the podcast, we look at EU ministers discussions with the Commission on the economic plans for their countries. Are they performing well?

On the last part of the show, Radio Schuman reveals which airlines are using more sustainable form of fuel.

Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by  David Brodheim and Georgios Leivaditis. Music by Alexandre Jas.

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing has laid off hundreds of additional employees in Washington state and California as part of planned cuts that will eventually reduce the company’s workforce by about 17,000.

Nearly 400 Boeing employees were laid off in Washington state and more than 500 in California, news outlets reported Monday.

The aerospace giant announced previously it would reduce its workforce by 10% in the coming months as it tries to recover from financial and regulatory troubles and a strike by its machinists that lasted almost two months.

CEO Kelly Ortberg has said the strike did not cause the layoffs, which he said was the result of overstaffing.

In November, the company started notifying workers who would be laid off. Notices filed with state employment agencies showed the first round of cuts impacted about 3,500 people around the country, The Seattle Times reported.

Those cuts touched people in roles from engineers to recruiters to analysts and impacted Boeing’s commercial, defense and global services divisions.

Boeing has said most laid-off employees remain on payroll for about two months and will receive severance pay, career transition services and subsidized health insurance benefits for up to three months.

“As announced in early October, we are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities,” Boeing spokespeople have said about the layoffs.

Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, has been in financial trouble since two crashes of its 737 Max jetliner killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The company’s fortunes and reputation took an additional hit when a panel blew off the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane in January.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed paratroopers into Syria to conduct “defense activities” on Sunday, after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

The IDF said the deployment was meant to “proactively ensure the defense of Golan” amid the instability in Syria. Footage and images show paratroopers and heavily armored tanks deploying to the buffer zone. The move comes as both the U.S. and Israel have struck multiple targets within Syria following Assad’s ouster.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said early Monday morning that Israel also conducted strikes on suspected Syrian chemical weapons sites. Assad infamously used chemical weapons on his own civilians when former President Barack Obama was in office. The U.S. and Israel are taking steps to ensure that those weapons do not fall into the hands of the Islamist rebels now in control of Syria.

“The only interest we have is the security of Israel and its citizens,” Saar said Monday. “That’s why we attacked strategic weapons systems, like, for example, remaining chemical weapons, or long-range missiles and rockets, in order that they will not fall in the hands of extremists.”

TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL

Leaders in the U.S. and Israel have praised the toppling of Assad but also expressed concern about who will lead the country moving forward. The main rebel group at play is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which translates to Organization for the Liberation of the Levant. The organization is a terrorist group with links to both ISIS and al Qaeda.

ISLAMIST REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN REGIMES OFF GUARD GIVING US NEW MIDEAST HEADACHE

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Assad’s fall in a statement on Sunday, going on to announce Sunday’s troop movements in order to “take action against possible threats.”

“One of them is the collapse of the Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974 between Israel and Syria. This agreement held for 50 years. Last night, it collapsed,” Netanyahu said. “The Syrian army abandoned its positions. We gave the Israeli army the order to take over these positions to ensure that no hostile force embeds itself right next to the border of Israel. This is a temporary defensive position until a suitable arrangement is found.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a televised statement on Nov. 26 in Jerusalem. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)

Netanyahu closed by offering a “hand of peace” to people in Syria, including to “Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel.”

President Biden echoed Netanyahu’s cautious optimism in his statement responding to Assad’s fall.

“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. The fall of this regime is a fundamental act of justice. It is a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their country. It is also a moment of risk and uncertainty,” Biden said.

“New opportunities are now opening up for the people of Syria and for the entire region,” he added.

President Biden praised the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, but he urged caution. (AP)

For his part, Assad fled Damascus with his wife and three children shortly before the country fell to rebel forces this weekend. He has since been granted asylum in Moscow.